The preliminary budget has come down from the Vancouver School Board. We are sad to communicate to you that the District Athletic Coordinator (DAC) position has been put on the “chopping block” and is to be eliminated in the School Board’s preliminary budget. This position is critical to the organization of the VSB athletics and the manner in which it delivers athletic opportunities to our students. Without this position the VSSAA Vancouver Secondary schools athletic association) and the VEPAA (Vancouver Elementary Physical Activity Association) would be seriously compromised and potentially dissolved which would thereby reduce the opportunities for participation in athletics for our students.

The function of Athletics in our schools is critical to the comprehensive education we are trying to deliver in our VSB schools; educating the “whole” child. The estimated number of athletic participants in our schools is above 50% of our school population. Our student/athletes participate in school athletics in one form of another from intramurals to elite level extra-curricular teams. The estimated numbers of participants is 8000 student athletes in our secondary schools and 12,000 athletes in our elementary schools. With the loss of the DAC position, a great number of opportunities will no longer be available for our students, impacting the entire district.

Please join the VSSAA and the VEPAA in our efforts, so that together we can save the DAC position. We need you to contact your school administrator, your trustees and your local union (VSTA or VESTA) to let them know that you support our programs. It is critical that we flood the offices with calls of support so that a clear message is sent about how we all feel about the value of athletics in our schools. Athletics is important to the overall growth of our kids and it is important to offer these sporting opportunities to students in the Vancouver School District. Your help is vital in order to keep the DAC position.

The 1st budget meeting open to the public is April 12th at Vancouver Technical Secondary School, 2600 East Broadway, 7:00 pm. We are encouraging all the interested parents and coaches to put themselves on the speakers list at budget2016_2017@vsb.bc.ca

Everyone who cares about the role Athletics plays in our public school system should be aware that cutting DAC is a huge mistake. The message that the preliminary budget is sending is that school athletics is not supported by the VSB. We must reverse that!